Customer-driven datacenters require sufficient computing power to handle a maximum throughput that might be required at any given time by customers. In some cases, datacenters offering “high availability” include additional resources as a precautionary measure (e.g., hardware to handle twice the anticipated capacity). In addition, typical datacenters reserve spare capacity in case there are hardware problems, maintenance is required, tests shall be performed or the application operation requires peak capacity for certain tasks (e.g., planning, quarterly financial closings, Christmas sales, etc.). Moreover, to avoid disaster scenarios, hardware is often replicated in different datacenters at different locations, such that one location can take over if the other location is hit by a disaster (floods, earthquakes, power outages, etc.).
Upon an introduction of new products or services requiring new hardware, maximum capacity requirements can increase dramatically which, in turn, requires an upgrade of the datacenter infrastructure. Such upgrades can be both costly result in a massive investment for companies.